Celtics (32-18) at Kings (18-34) 2/16

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 

Boston Celtics (32-18) at Sacramento Kings (18-34)
Tuesday, February 16
9:00 PM ET
Game #51, Road Game #27
TV: CSN-CA, CSN-NE, NBA LP 763, 764
Arco Arena




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Rajon Rondo/  Ray Allen/  Paul Pierce/  Kevin Garnett/  Kendrick Perkins

Reserves
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Eddie House
Shelden Williams
Marquis Daniels
Rasheed Wallace
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker

Injuries
JR Giddens (knee)  out
Ray Allen (back) probable





Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Tyreke Evans/ Kevin Martin/ Omri Casspi/ Donte Green/ Spencer Hawes

Reserves
Hilton Armstrong
Jon Brockman
Sean May
Andres Nocioni
Sergio Rodriguez
Kenny Thomas
Jason Thompson
Ime Udoka
Beno Udrih

Injuries
Francisco Garcia (arm) out

Team Connections
 Eddie House played for Sacramento during the 2004-05 season
Kenny Thomas and J.R. Giddens are former New Mexico Lobos
Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal played for the Celtics from 1972-75 and was a member of the 1973-74 Championship team
Sean May and Rasheed Wallace both attended the University of North Carolina
Shelden Williams played for the Kings during the 2007-08 and 2008-09
seasons.

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo  14.3 PPG  4.4 RPG   9.7 APG  52.9 FG%
Tyreke Evans  20.3 PPG  4.8 RPG  5.1 APG  46.0  FG%
Fresh off his first All Star appearance, Rondo faces a tough task in Tyreke Evans.  Evans has a 6" advantage over Rondo and is every bit as quick.  The Celtics need Rondo to be aggressive on both ends of the court if they want to get a win in this game. 

vs
Ray Allen  16.0 PPG  3.4 RPG   2.7 APG   45.0 FG%
Kevin Martin  20.8 PPG  4.4 RPG  2.7 APG  40.0 FG%
This is a very interesting matchup considering all the rumors being floated about a trade that would swap these two players.  The Celtics need Ray to snap out of his recent slump and to contribute some consistent offense in order to get back to their winning ways.  If Kevin Martin has his sights on Boston this would be a good time to impress Danny. 

Game Notes
 Celtics swept the season series 2-0 against Sacramento in 2008-09
 Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 21.0 points per game last season
 Kevin Martin led the Kings with an average of 18.0 points per game against the Celtics last season
 The Celtics are 5-5 against Sacramento since the start of the 2004-05 season; They have won four straight against Sacramento, the first time the
C’s have done that since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
 The Celtics are leading the all-time series 171-111 with the Celtics 92-32 at home

If the Celtics are going to make a run at the championship this would be a good time to begin.  They are coming off a semi rest time when they had no games.  Pierce, Rondo and KG were involved in the All Star festivities and game, but should be rested in spite of all the activities in Dallas.  The rest of the team are coming in after having time with family and should be well rested.   Hopefully they have done some soul searching and will come back focused and ready to play Celtic basketball. 

Both of these teams have been slumping of late with the Celtics going 5-5 in their last 10 games and the Kings finishing 3-7 in their last 10 games. However, the Celtics have lost their last 2 games while the Kings have won their last 2.  The Celtics are 15-9 on the road while the Kings are 13-12 at home. 

Going down the stretch, the Celtics can't afford to take any teams for granted and must give their total effort to win each and every game.  This is the second game in a 5 game road trip that began in New Orleans before the All Star break.  The Celtics have the Lakers coming up on Thursday, but they can't afford to look past the Kings to that game.

 The Celtics are as healthy as they have been all season with their top 10 rotation players finally available to play.  Hopefully the 6 day lay off solved any problems with Ray's back and that Pierce's foot is 100% and that KG will continue to regain his pre-injury form.  Marquis Daniels has looked great since his return and that is a big plus for the Celtics.  Hopefully the players won't let trade talks provide yet another distraction and will start their win streak here. 

Keys to the Game
Defense from start to finish
Focus on playing team ball
Limit turnovers
Crash the boards

[thebat]

I expect nothing but a win for the Celts.

[lon3lytoaster]

Danny's going to be sitting right next to Petrie the entire game talking his ear off about how he should give us Martin, I bet.

[Evantime34]

Hopefully the vets come out and show that they don't want this team broken up. I expect a strong effort from all the players.

[Redz]

Is Ray definitely playing tonight?

Odds on him swapping uniforms pre-tip?

[celticinorlando]

I expect nothing but a win for the Celts.

i dont expect a celtics win anymore. i hope for a win but am fully prepared to wake tomorrow and see they lost another close game.

[WeMadeIt17]

Have another bad feeling about this game.. Dont know why had the same feeling against New Orleans. Hopefully a swap of uniforms for a few players on these two team will make me feel a little better. But again have a bad/weird feeling about this game. 

[Evantime34]

Have another bad feeling about this game.. Dont know why had the same feeling against New Orleans. Hopefully a swap of uniforms for a few players on these two team will make me feel a little better. But again have a bad/weird feeling about this game. 

I know exactly why you have a bad feeling about this game. It's because the last month the Celtics have played like poop.

I have a good feeling that Ray is going to come out with something to prove and absolutely light up Kevin Martin.

[WeMadeIt17]

I dont think he will light him up.. I hope he does but i dont think he will. I think it will be the other way around

[Drucci]

Well, the last two times the Celtics played in Sacramento, they won by a combined 65 points!

Obviously such a slaughter would be great tonight but it won't happen. Don't know what to expect from the C's anymore, really, but this game is the perfect one to start winning again, and in good fashion.

Enough of the second half collapses  : the C's had some excuses before, but they quickly vanished, and now that the all-star break is gone, they can't focus their minds on some far away goal or week of vacation. They must come focused for 48 minutes and do their job.

I just don't think I (and every Celtic fan) could handle such a collapse tonight, now that this game starts the second half of the season. This team has to play well and start clicking right now, regardless of potential trades before Thursday!

I will catch the replay of the game tomorrow (tipoff is too late here : 4:00 am), hoping for a convincing win.

It's true that "Ray for Martin" trade rumor (or trade hope?) will be an interesting subplot in this game. I expect a big game from Ray since he had a full week of much deserved and needed rest.

Let's go Celtics and TP FL!

[GreenFaith1819]

TP4U, FLCeltsFan thanks for post!

C'mon C's let's start this 2nd half off right!

Quit Playing Around C's, lol....time to get serious. Take care of Kings tonight and get ready for LA Revenge on Thursday.

[Spicoli]

Huge game, as a big win could set us back on track. Win or lose, i just wanna see these guys go hard for a full 48 minutes for once!

[Bring Back Antoine]

anyone know if this is on NBATV tonight?

[Mike-Dub]

anyone know if this is on NBATV tonight?

Nope... Just checked, it's not.

[celticinorlando]

i haven't been this discouraged about the celtics since the season they lost 18 straight. the big lead collapses have gotten to me. i feel like there is zero hope to turn this thing around.